Two episodes in a row, Happy Reading!
Link to Episode 25: https://www.tellyupdates.com/riansh-becoming-mrs-raisinghania-episode-25/
BECOMING MRS. RAISINGHANIA – EPISODE 26: BEHIND THE FACADE
Riddhima sat on one of the benches and looked into the distance. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d visited this place, yet the importance of this place would never diminish for her. Despite the past, she’d always cherished the memories with her mother and they’d been etched into her mind after her death.
She stared into the distance, looking at the kids playing in the park. She missed her mother so dearly, but in the past few days, she’d begun realizing the lengths her Ma had gone to for her. Her own mother had stranded her in life, but her Ma had always been by her side, supporting and loving her for all that she was.
Vansh: You love parks? I remember the last time when I’d found you at that park in Mumbai. You were lost in thoughts even then.
Riddhima: Mummy used to bring me here and she sat here at one of the benches while I played. She used to sit here and study.
Vansh (turning toward her): Study? What did she study?
Riddhima (inhaling a deep breath): Mummy got married when she was twenty. She lost her own parents at a young age and her grandfather brought her up. He loved her so dearly, but when he began running short of finances, he realised he needed to wed her away so she could live a life she wanted and pursue her studies. He’d talked to my father about this before marriage and there was no complication about that. The two of them were really good friends and Papa used to help Mummy with her studies, guided her wherever she needed.
Riddhima (pausing shortly and continuing): But they didn’t love each other. Papa loved Payal Ma and he’d told Mummy about that since the beginning. He didn’t really have any relation with her after the marriage and Mummy was fine with it because she believed that loving can never be a crime. And she felt indebted for how much Papa did for her. Plus, she always supposed their marriage was unwanted. After all, which sane man in the recent days wants to marry a girl who’s almost ten years younger?
Riddhima: But life is not so easy, right? The two of them stayed together the whole day, did everything together and they were such good friends, so they did fall in love. Both of them knew about it, but they never confessed because it didn’t feel like a requirement. Mummy always used to say that the love that needs to be expressed is extremely weak. (smiling softly) I remember her telling me that a mother never tells her child that she loves them, but they do understand. And she always believed that love needed to be that true.
With the thoughts filling her mind, Riddhima choked upon her words. She’d never talked about her mother after her death and it almost felt surreal now. She knew why she was sharing her past with him and the warmth of that feeling enveloped her heart. It felt important – HE felt important to her.
Moments later, she saw him wrap his fingers around her and she smiled, her heart feeling full. She’d tried pushing him away since so long, but she couldn’t think of days without him. He almost felt like the cocoon she’d always been wrapped with, under Payal Ma. If she’d let go of him, she’d have lost something so precious, so precious.
Riddhima (continuing): Then Payal Ma joined the same office as Papa. The two of them maintained a very formal relationship inside the office and outside the office, they both acted as strangers. Ma has always been so calm and collected, you know? Always, and even Mummy used to tell me this. But when the two of them began working on a project together, their emotions returned and for just one night, things slipped out of hand. Ma had kept calling Papa out of concern, but that entire night he didn’t return home.
Riddhima: It felt like fate had cracked a joke upon our lives. Papa has returned home the next morning guilty and he’d told Mummy everything. She really appreciated that, but that night formed cracks in their relationship. Mummy drifted away from Papa, but she was really trying to cope up. She knew it was a mistake; She knew – thought – Papa loved her. And things began getting fine after a year. The two of them were slowly trying to move on and then, they were fine.
Riddhima: Payal Ma had left the office after that night and it was only after a year and a half when Papa met her with a baby cradled in her arms. It was Ragini Di, Papa’s elder daughter. He dismissed her, bounced away all his responsibilities and returned home. But when a man can’t love his own daughter, how can he love anyone? A week later, when he heard the news that Mummy was also pregnant, he fled away. Ma and Mummy tried looking for him everywhere, but till date we don’t know where he went that night. I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone so much. He was a f*cking coward!
Vansh softly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her toward himself as she began crying. She leaned down on his shoulder and let the tears roll down her cheeks. She’d grown up despising her father and she could never forgive him for what he’d done. He’d toyed with their emotions and abandoned both his families when they needed him.
Riddhima: If Payal Ma hadn’t given us the support then, I’m sure I wouldn’t have survived and neither Mummy, because she’d another until graduation. I remember the entire neighbourhood used to mock at them because they became friends, but I guess that’s what happens when women empower women. There’s no jealousy, there’s no competition, just the wish to help and inspire. They grew really close and Payal Ma had asked Mummy to complete her Masters too. She used to tell her that Mummy was like her younger sister and she wouldn’t have ever asked her sister to leave her studies for working. She funded for everything we needed and when Ma began studying for Masters, she started working part-time.
Riddhima: Ma had asked her not several times, but she wanted to be able to do something for me. It was very pressurizing for her, but it was also something she felt the need to do. So, she began working and then, she began having very less spare time. This was the only time she could spend with me and she used to get me to the park. We spent some time together and then when I went to play with my friends, she used to sit here and study before leaving for work in the night.
Riddhima exhaled a harsh breath and Vansh looked down at her, his finger slowly caressing her hair. He knew how losing and hating a parent felt like. It was an emotion he was too acquainted with, but he’d always had a caring family and perhaps, Riddhima’s pain was nothing he could imagine.
Vansh (softly): We can talk about it some other day if you want. You look really exhausted; we should go find a hotel nearby.
Riddhima wrapped her fingers around his forearm and picked at the loose threads of his shirt. She wished she’d seen her parents here while she played with her friends, but she could never forgive her parents for what they did to her. Both of them abandoned her in life, letting her deal with life alone. If it wasn’t for her Ma, she’d have never survived a life.
Riddhima: Things were slowly getting fine, you know? Despite what anyone told around us, we felt like we four were enough for each other. We didn’t feel the void of not having a father and it just seemed like a new normal. (looking up at him) You’ve always asked me why stormy nights scare me, right? Even that day, part of my panic attack was because of the thunderstorm.
Riddhima (sucking in a sharp breath): Mummy died on a stormy night. And she didn’t of a natural cause; she took it upon herself to die. I remember being so excited because of the rains that day and (smiling sadly) I’d returned home completely drenched. I kept looking around the house and that was also the time when Ma had come home for something amidst the heavy rains. But when I went back and looked for Ma, I just saw her hanging from the fan, lifeless. And just when I’d seen her, the thunder had struck. (fumbling) That sound just scares me. Aisa lagta hai that someone close to me would die and I’ve never been able to come to terms with it.
Riddhima: Every single time I hear the thunder strike and the rains happen, I see that image flash before me and I can’t think of anything else. (inhaling a deep breath) Can you imagine both my parents left me stranded in life? Neither of them cared about me and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to bear that pain again. Ma has done a lot for me; She changed cities just so I could move on. (sitting up straight) I’m very afraid to love, Vansh. I’ve always just lost love in life. Imagine someone whose parents themselves dismiss her. No one else can ever love you as your parent does, right?
Vansh stood up and knelt before her on the grass, acing his fingers with her slowly. He could never say that he understood her pain, but he could definitely share her pain. As he looked at her, he knew how insecure and vulnerable Riddhima really was. Her bravery and strength were just a façade to mask her weakness.
And she’d ripped herself apart to show him who she really was. He could never leave her even in his wildest dreams.
Vansh: Ma never left you, neither did Ragini Di. And I’m never going to leave you either, Riddhima. You just have to trust me. You don’t have to punish yourself for the past, it was not something that you could control.
Riddhima: That’s what even Mummy told, but she left me. I never felt my Papa’s absence, but with Mummy, she was my best friend back then and till date, I feel that void.
Vansh: Fine, I won’t make promises to you then. I’ll prove my words to you. (forwarding his hand before her) Will you marry me?
Riddhima smiled and placed her hand atop his, their fingers slowly lacing together. She felt the wave of heat course through her and inhaled a deep breath. She really wished to move on in her life and with Vansh.
Riddhima: I don’t think I’ve an option, Mr. Raisinghania. (pointing at the ring on her finger) I am becoming Mrs. Raisinghania.
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That’d be it for today. The crux of the story is out and I guess, it’s been long pending so I’d love to know your thoughts on the episode. Thank you for reading and stay safe everyone!